I have been very lucky in finding a nice Hobie windsurfer. The only problem is that it is missing its fin. Does anyone know if it will take standard or will I need to go digging through the dark areas of eBay?

There is no such thing as a "standard" fin box. There are about a half dozen different different fin box configurations used by various manufacturers and most of them are not interchangeable.

The most common fin box configurations are Trim Box, Powerbox, Tuttle Box, A-Box, and E-Box. There are some other lesser used fin boxes, but they are quite rare.

If I recall correctly, an Alpha Sailboard would either use an A-Box or an E-Box fin. This fin box system has a recessed track where you drop the fin in and a pin at the front or back of the fin engages the track. Then you slide the fin into position, drop in a square nut, push the fin down, and a machine screw passes through the fin and into the nut to hold the other end of the fin in position.

The A and E style fin box systems are almost identical and an E-Box fin can be converted to A-Box by cutting off the extension tab on the base of the fin and an A-Box fin will fit in an E-Box fin box if needed, so these two are somewhat interchangeable. The other fin box configurations however would absolutely NOT work in this style of fin box. So be sure you get the correct style fin for your fin box.

These fins will fit the Alph fin box. There are several sizes and shapes, but the part of the fin that goes into the board are mostly the same. Also in the picture is the screw and plate to hold the fin in place. Hope this helps.

By the way, the sport of windsurfing has come a LOOOONNNGGG way since the days of the Alpha/Hobie boards (mid-80's).

Modern equipment (really anything manufactured from about Y2K onward) works substantially better than that early gear - no more tie-on booms, base extensions that don't adjust, super narrow tippy boards, overpowering/heavy rigs.....

If you find that you're really struggling with the Alpha board but are truly interested in learning to windsurf (and you should be because it really is an awesome sport), I would highly suggest getting some modern gear and possibly taking a beginner lesson. It will make learning the fundamentals much easier and you will spend a lot more time actually windsurfing and a lot less time falling in and uphauling.

If you find that you're really struggling with the Alpha board but are truly interested in learning to windsurf (and you should be because it really is an awesome sport), I would highly suggest getting some modern gear and possibly taking a beginner lesson. It will make learning the fundamentals much easier and you will spend a lot more time actually windsurfing and a lot less time falling in and uphauling.

sm

SRM speaks the truth, it is an awesome sport. I still have an old Alpha Speed Needle hanging up in my man cave, and I competed in the Alpha Worlds in the Canary Islands back in the '80's. At 67 years of age, I still windsurf and have not really slowed down. My neighbour took this pic of me this summer.